The Oregon Attorney General's Office is suing an electronic cigarettes importer that sells plastic devices marketed as being safer than regular tobacco cigarettes.

Attorney General John Kroger filed the lawsuit Tuesday, the same day a county in New York banned sales of what's called e-cigarettes to minors; both moves are the first of their kinds in the nation.

Typically imported from China, e-cigarettes look like traditional cigarettes, down to their battery-powered glowing red tip. Instead of burning, e-cigarettes vaporize certain mixtures, which can include liquid nicotine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has not approved the sale of e-cigarettes, recently reported that a test of 19 brands found more than half contained a cancer-causing substance.

Kroger has filed suit against Florida-based Smoking Everywhere Inc., which had refused state requests to restrict its sales, and its chief executive, Elico Taieb.

Meanwhile, Smoking Everywhere and a major importer, Sottera Inc., are suing the FDA in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., claiming the agency doesn't have the authority to regulate their product.

Smoking Everywhere has continued to operate in Oregon as the federal case proceeds, Tuesday's lawsuit contends. Kroger already has reached an agreement with Sottera, maker of the Njoy brand, to halt sales here.

"It's my duty to protect the public from products that are falsely advertised as safe," said Kroger, who has said that e-cigarettes' flavored options are a further concern as they may appeal to young people.